


Lonely Voyager

by manyscarletskies (achillvs)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Magnus wants the Mortal Instruments, merman!Alec - Freeform, pirate!magnus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7484025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/achillvs/pseuds/manyscarletskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus and his loyal crew search for the Mortal Instruments, objects which will grant them immortality. However, when Magnus must seek help from the merfolk, a race who hate him, he discovers that immortality may not be quite what he wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely Voyager

**Author's Note:**

> So this was written for the Shadowhunters Big Bang, and because I am a terrible, terrible person, I have not quite finished. Therefore, I will be uploading this in chapters to give myself time to finish. I am on holiday until Tuesday, so I doubt I will have enough signal to update until then. Many apologies!  
> I will admit, this story is more of a venture into Magnus' feelings than it is an acutal Malec fic. Hopefully there will be more Malec in the later chapters!  
> The artwork for this can be found [here](http://keladri.tumblr.com/post/147361051906/my-final-illustration-for-this-round-of-the) \- isn't it amazing! I'm in awe.  
> Anyway, please enjoy and leave a comment saying what you think!

The rising sun glinted off the rings adorning the hand which clasped the wheel, the jewels shining as if with an inner glow. The hand was attached to an arm that was covered with a loose, white shirt, which billowed out like the sails of the ship in the light breeze. Over the top of the shirt was a leather tunic, once pristine but worn and sun-bleached from many days at sea. The tunic was decorated with sparkling beads, prizes from battles won. Moving down, a brown pair of trousers were next, ripped at the bottom from being caught and pulled. A pair of black boots completed the ensemble, along with a hat placed at a jaunty angle on carefully styled hair.

Magnus Bane, notorious pirate and son of the famed Asmodeus, surveyed his crew, pleased. His latest quest was going to plan, and he was content. The Mortal Instruments would soon be in his grasp (or at least one) and he would be immortal. His crew were working hard, knowing that Magnus would share this prize with them. Magnus may have been a pirate, but he was a noble pirate.

This quest of his had been a long one, but Magnus finally knew where he was going. The famed underwater city of Alicante held the Mortal Cup, and Magnus wasn’t going to let a few merfolk stand in his way. An old accomplice of his had tipped him off last time he had docked at port, for which Magnus had been utterly grateful. If he hadn’t received that information, he would’ve had to abandon the quest. Three years with no results was a bit disheartening for even the most loyal crewmembers. Luckily, he wouldn’t have to deal with any time wasting activities, such as mutiny.

The captain’s green eyes narrowed as he noticed a lack of red hair. Gesturing for Ragnor, his snarky but ever-loyal first mate, to take the wheel, he swaggered down the stairs and into the crew’s quarters.

“Alright, biscuit, I know you’re down here.” He called, looking warily at the hammocks. A sniffle caught his attention, and he made his way further into the gloom. As he’d suspected, his two newest recruits, Clary and Simon, were sat huddled together in a small alcove. The pair straightened when they saw Magnus.

“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean… I just…” Clary stammered, and Magnus could see her red-rimmed eyes even in the darkness.

“I know. You miss your parents.” Magnus finished, frowning. He’d picked Clary and Simon up at their latest port stop, only agreeing to take them on when Clary explained how her parents had drowned a few weeks ago. Magnus had been surprised, wondering why Clary would want to sail the seas when the sea was the cause of her parents’ demise, but she had been adamant. Reluctantly, out of memory of Jocelyn, he’d allowed Clary to become part of his crew. And of course, where Clary went, Simon followed.

“I’m sorry.” Clary repeated, standing up and to attention. Simon copied, albeit a little clumsier.

“At ease.” Magnus said, unable to hold back his fond eye roll. “Now get up on deck and to your duties.” Clary and Simon nodded, making for the stairs. “And try not to neglect said duties more than you already have.” Magnus called after them. He had to at least _pretend_ to be harsh, or his men would never listen to him.

Strolling after the youngsters, he made for his cabin, where Catarina was pouring over maps. “Well, my lovely, darling second mate, have you found anything?” Catarina looked up, brow furrowed. Magnus knew that furrow well. It was part of the reason why he’d allowed Catarina to join his crew. Many pirates were wary of woman, calling them ‘bad luck’, but Magnus knew it would be worse for him if he’d left Catarina on land.

That was also why he’d agreed to allow Clary onto his ship. He was much more tolerant towards women on ships than other pirates, which had not been well received by some. Luckily for Magnus, he didn’t particularly care what others thought.

“Not yet. We know that Idris is here,” Catarina outlined an area of the sea with her finger, Magnus leaning over her shoulder to get a better look, “but no one knows exactly where Alicante is located.” Magnus hummed, thinking. The only problem with where the Mortal Cup was located was that the city belonged to the merfolk. Merfolk were not usually a problem, but they were most likely not inclined to help Magnus, what with him being his father’s son, but he was sure he could change that. With a bit of asking around, Magnus was certain he could grab the Cup and leave before the merfolk noticed.

Of course, they had to find Alicante first.

“I’ve been reading through old accounts of people who’ve supposedly been to Alicante, but they’re all different.” Catarina dropped her head into her hands.

“We are here right now,” Magnus said, pointing, “so we should be in Idris by tomorrow. We can drop anchor and look around when we get there.” Catarina nodded, looking up. “Good work.” He flashed his second mate a smile, patting her shoulder before going back out on deck.

Ragnor had his crew under control, and everything looked pristine. Magnus smiled fondly, running a bejewelled hand across the woodwork. His _Chairman Meow_ was known at every port, and she was a beauty. Magnus chose to ignore those people who frowned at her name.

“Do we have a heading, captain?” Ragnor called down, both hands on the wheel. Magnus smiled.

“To Idris, and to the Mortal Cup!” He declared, and his crew let out a cheer. Pleased, he took the wheel back from Ragnor and altered their direction slightly. This was going to be easy.

* * *

 

“Why is it so difficult to find an underwater city in the middle of the ocean?” Magnus grumbled, ignoring Catarina’s eye roll. They’d dropped anchor near a small, deserted island in Idris, and Magnus could only see ocean for miles around him, even when using his telescope.

Annoyed, he bade his crew to sleep and retreated to his cabin to think. It was obvious that the merfolk didn’t want to be found, and they were _not_ going to be pleased when they realised who Magnus was. The merfolk hated his father, and with good reason. He had almost wiped out their entire race.

So how to find Alicante? Magnus stroked his chin, frowning when he felt stubble. He always liked himself and his crew to be clean-shaven. It was more hygienic.

Merfolk – particularly mermaids – loved to enchant sailors with their melodic voices, hypnotizing them with soft songs and false promises until they could grab the sailor and pull them down to the dark depths of the ocean. It was said that a kiss from a mermaid could save you from drowning, but Magnus had never believed that particular story, especially as due to the lack of evidence.

What to do now? At this rate, he was going to have to sail through every part of Idris searching for the city, and yet he wasn’t entirely sure that he would actually find it. Maybe there was a spell on it that prevented people from seeing it. And if that was true, how was Magnus going to get in?

Perhaps if he just announced who he was, the merfolk would reveal themselves out of fear of his father. Or maybe that would just make them keep hiding. Magnus sat back in his chair with a frown. Why did merfolk have to be so _difficult_?

Admitting that he had no idea how to find Alicante was out of the question. He just had to find a way to make the merfolk reveal themselves. Magnus rubbed at his eyes, careful to avoid the painstakingly applied kohl surrounding them, and yawned. Perhaps if he sailed into the middle of Idris and made anchor there for a few days…

“Captain?” There was a knock on Magnus’ door, and Raphael walked in without waiting for a reply. Too caught off guard to reprimand his crewmember, Magnus folded his arms and waited. “I have something you might want.” Raphael continued before hunting around in his clothing. Magnus watched in amusement, which quickly turned to annoyance when Raphael held out an old compass.

“I don’t have time for games, Raphael.” Magnus dismissed him, turning back to his maps.

“I think you’ll want to make time for this, captain.” Raphael said in a low voice, placing the compass before Magnus. Rolling his eyes dramatically, Magnus picked up the compass, turning it this way and that.

“Wonderful. Thank you for your contribution.” He said, entirely too tired to be dealing with Raphael. He had been a good boy, when Magnus had met him, a good, Law-abiding person. It had been fun to introduce him to piracy. Although that had backfired on Magnus when Ragnor took to him like a moth to a flame, and they soon became best friends. That in itself would’ve been fine, if their favourite pastime hadn’t been sharing embarrassing stories of Magnus.

“It’s magic, captain.” Raphael sat down, making himself comfortable. Magnus raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

“Doesn’t look like much.” This seemed awfully convenient.

“Neither do you.” Raphael shot back, looking smug.

“I’ll have you know that I’m one of the most famous pirates ever to sail the seas. Everyone knows my name.” Magnus sniffed, eyeing his crewmember.

“That’s true, but it also means everyone wants your head.” Magnus shrugged.

“It’s a downside to being fabulous.” Raphael let out a long-suffering sigh, and gestured to the compass.

“Focus. Magic compass?” Magnus reluctantly turned his gaze back to the old compass.

“Alright. How does this ‘magic compass’ work?” Raphael leant over the table, plucking the compass from Magnus’ fingers before fiddling with it. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Magnus. “How long have you been carrying this around with you?” He asked, eyes beginning to narrow in suspicion. Raphael shrugged.

“Since I joined your crew.” Magnus gasped in outrage.

“You’ve kept this from me until now?” Raphael nodded, not looking up.

“Apologies, captain, but I had my reasons. Anyway,” now Raphael did look up, a cheeky expression on his usually serious face, “you’ve been grumpy the past few days. Figured I should give you some good news.” Magnus let out a wordless exclamation in protest. He was _never_ grumpy.

Seeing the look on Magnus’ face, Raphael smirked and handed back the compass. Magnus stared at it. “Now what? If you’re lying to me…” Magnus threatened. Raphael simply chuckled.

“I’m not, captain. Hold it in both hands.” Magnus did as he was instructed, waiting for something to happen. The needle swung one way, then the other, before settling in a set direction. Magnus waited. “Is anything else supposed to happen?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Raphael grumbled, propping his chin on his hand. “I’ve never used it.” With a raised eyebrow, Magnus swung the compass this way and that. The needle remained pointing in the same direction.

“Well, I’ll look over the fact that you kept this from me as it seems to be working.” Magnus grabbed his own compass, comparing the two. His compass pointed north, while the ‘magic’ compass pointed north-east.

“You’re welcome.” Raphael said scathingly, realising that was all the thanks he was going to get. Standing up, he left the cabin, shutting the door with a thump.

“That wasn’t strange at all.” Magnus muttered. There had definitely been something off with Raphael, but Magnus wasn’t in the mood to deal with his surly crewmember. He was usually a pain, disobeying Magnus’ orders because they were ‘ _stupid and not necessary_ ’, but there had been a strange look in his eyes…

Magnus groaned, taking his hat off to run a hand through his hair. He needed sleep before he started hallucinating further. Perhaps if he just closed his eyes for a moment, he could summon up enough energy to get to his bed…

* * *

 

“Captain!” There came a bang at the door, and Magnus bolted upright. However, he wasn’t aware that he was still in his chair at his desk, and so promptly overbalanced. “What was that crash?” Catarina shouted as Magnus rubbed his sore head.

“Nothing, darling!” Magnus replied, standing up and quickly grabbing onto his table as the world spun before his eyes. He heard Catarina grumble something under her breath before the door opened.

“You look awful.” Catarina said, and Magnus heard the stifled laugh behind her words. Scowling, he turned his back on his second mate and strode further into his cabin to find a mirror. He couldn’t go out looking less than perfect.

“Did you want something, or did you just come to annoy me?” He asked, wiping away the smudges from under his eyes.

“It’s lunchtime, captain. You’ve been asleep for almost half the day.” Magnus straightened up, glancing out the porthole to his left. Sure enough, the sun was high in the sky, shining brilliantly down on the shimmering sea.

“So I have.” Magnus remarked, not willing to reveal how ruffled he was by this. How had he slept this long? He never slept in… perhaps this search was taking more out of him than he cared to admit. “I hope the crew is up and ready to sail.” Magnus deemed himself presentable, striding past Catarina, who followed close behind.

“Of course, captain.” She said, a curious tone colouring her words.

“What is it?” Magnus snapped irritably. His second mate blinked, unperturbed.

“You don’t seem like yourself, Magnus.” She said bluntly, putting a hand on his arm. Magnus took in a deep breath, surveying his shining ship.

“I know how to find Alicante.” He said, turning to Catarina, whose brow furrowed.

“You do?” She wondered, disbelief obvious in her voice. Magnus smirked.

“Ye of little faith.” With a flourish, Magnus produced Raphael’s compass, holding it aloft. “This, my dear, is the answer to our prayers. It points directly to Alicante.” Catarina studied the compass.

“Where did you get this?” She wondered. Magnus made for the wheel, expecting her to follow.

“Raphael gave it to me last night. Said he’d been carrying it around with him ever since I recruited him, the little-”

“Don’t you think this seems awfully convenient?” Catarina cut him off. Magnus recalled his misgivings from the previous night.

“You worry too much, darling.” He said flippantly, surveying his ship. “Let’s cast off!” He yelled to his crew, who all immediately scurried to lift the anchor. “If it leads us to Alicante, I’m not bothered about where it came from.” He continued to Catarina, who was still frowning.

“What if it’s a trap?” Magnus scoffed.

“Raphael couldn’t devise a trap if I showed him how to do it. Now, be off with you.” Although still anxious, Catarina left him alone and went to help the rest of the crew, leaving Magnus with his thoughts as the anchor raised and they set off.

Automatically setting their course to where the ‘magic’ compass pointed, Magnus thought over Catarina’s words. It was true, this could be a trap. He had known Raphael for years, but it was possible that he had been deceived. But Magnus hadn’t heard of the Mortal Instruments when he recruited Raphael, and so it was impossible that this could’ve been planned in advance.

A niggling feeling still plagued him. It _was_ awfully convenient that Raphael had brought him the compass at this point in time, and that it _happened_ to only point to Alicante, the place Magnus wanted to find.

Magnus shrugged to himself. It was better not to look a gift horse in the mouth, after all. And he didn’t want to dishearten his crew _again_. There had been so many false leads, fake stories, that if this compass turned out to be a forgery of some sort, he’d have to abandon this quest. And Magnus Bane never abandoned a quest.

* * *

 

Luckily for Magnus, Raphael’s compass turned out to be accurate, and took them straight to Alicante. Although it wasn’t obvious to start with.

“Captain, we’re coming up on an island!” There was a call from the crow’s nest, and Magnus squinted through his telescope. Sure enough, there was a small island in the distance, growing larger with every second. Situated on the island was a run-down castle.

“That can’t be right.” Magnus muttered, glancing at Raphael’s compass. Which, of course, was pointing straight to the island.

Magnus called for his crewmember, and the sullen boy came up beside him. Magnus eyed him cautiously. “Your compass is pointing to that island.” He remarked. Raphael shrugged.

“Then perhaps that is Alicante.” Scowling, Magnus watched as they drew ever closer to the island.

“It can’t be.” He couldn’t have spent several years of his life dreaming of this moment, and this _pathetic_ island was the result. Magnus’ jaw tightened, and he dismissed Raphael abruptly.

Soon, the water was too shallow for _Chairman Meow_ to continue, and so they weighed anchor. Gathering his most loyal crewmembers, he left Ragnor in charge of his ship and bade Catarina to join him in sailing to the island, along with Simon, to give him more experience with dealing with people.

As the rowing boat was being lowered, Catarina leant over and whispered, “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Magnus hid his apprehension and gave a lazy grin.

“Of course, my darling. When have I ever led you astray?” Ignoring Catarina’s unconvinced look and muttered ‘ _do you even have a plan?’_ he leant back as Simon picked up the oars and began to row. It would do him good to gain some muscle. He was as thin as a stick, and that was simply no good.

When they were around halfway to the island, something rather unexpected happened. Although, considering where they were, it shouldn’t have been.

“What are you doing in our waters?” The boat rocked violently as Simon almost lost his seat in fright. Putting his hands out to steady the boat, Magnus spotted the source of the voice. A woman bobbed up and down in the water, short hair plastered to her face, black markings visible all over her body.

“We seek the city of Alicante.” Magnus announced, putting on his best ‘important person’ face. The mermaid didn’t look impressed.

“And why is this?” She demanded, scowling furiously. Magnus opened his mouth to reply, but just at that moment, Simon regained his wits.

“You’re a mermaid!” He exclaimed, eyes full of delight. The mermaid looked even more unimpressed, if that was possible.

“What gave it away?” She deadpanned, before returning her gaze to Magnus, who hurried to reply. This mermaid didn’t seem like the friendliest of souls.

“I request a meeting with the Inquisitor.” Magnus decided that it was best to meet with the head of Alicante, as it would get him and his crew right into the centre of the city. Unfortunately, it seemed the grumpy mermaid had other plans.

“The Inquisitor doesn’t meet with humans.” She said, curling her upper lip in disgust. “Especially not the son of Asmodeus.” She spat out Magnus’ father’s name as if it were poison. Magnus couldn’t help but agree with her.

“Then you know that it would be unwise to make me angry.” He retorted, determinedly not looking at Catarina, whom he knew had an astonished look on her face. She had been doing that a lot lately.

Glaring, the mermaid shoved her chin in the air before doing a (admittedly impressive) backflip back under the water. Breathing a sigh of relief, Magnus eyed the crewmembers in his boat.

“I think it would be best to leave the talking to the experienced.” He admonished Simon, who looked down in shame.

“Sorry, captain.” Sparing a glance for Catarina, he winced internally at her expression. Deciding not to comment, he folded his arms.

“We are here for one thing and one thing only: to get the Mortal Cup. That is our objective, not to moon over the merfolk.”

“It might help if you were nice to them. Then they’d be more likely to help us.” Catarina pointed out. Magnus knew this was true, but also reasoned that since the merfolk were never going to be nice to him due to who his father was, then there was really no point in him being needlessly nice to them. So instead of replying, he shrugged, earning an eye roll from his friend.

Thankfully, the mermaid chose that moment to reappear. However, she looked much too pleased for Magnus to be reassured.

“The Inquisitor will not see you. Now, be on your way.” She declared triumphantly. Magnus frowned, thinking fast. He could not – _would not_ – be turned away when he was so close to the Cup.

“My father won’t be pleased to hear that…” He began, casting a warning glance at Catarina when she shifted uncomfortably. Thankfully, she subsided and Magnus continued, watching as the mermaid’s face grew more and more worried. “He sent me to check that you were behaving correctly. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to find out that you turned us away.”

The mermaid pondered over this for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision. “If that is the case, you will follow me. My family will gladly subject to your… observation.” Magnus withheld his grimace at her phrasing. It wasn’t that he wanted to use the merfolk in this way, but he _would_ get the Cup, no matter the price. He flashed the mermaid his most dazzling smile.

“That would be perfect.” He said. “May I inquire as to your name?” The mermaid narrowed her eyes in suspicion, before deciding that it would be unwise to upset Asmodeus’ son (even if he was lying about his true purpose).

“Maryse Lightwood.” She replied shortly, before diving back under the waves. Simon, who had been blissfully silent thus far, chose this moment to speak up again.

“How are we supposed to follow her if she’s vanished again?” Peering into the water and squinting from the bright reflection from the sun, Magnus frowned. Unfortunately, the lad had a point.

There was a splash from the other side of the boat, and the three carefully shifted their weight to look. Wish a spray of water; Maryse reappeared, brushing water over Magnus’ eyes, which had closed in a blink in surprise. The boat rocked dangerously as Catarina demanded to know what Maryse had done.

Rubbing his eyes, trying to get rid of the water, Magnus gingerly opened his eyes.

“There’s a glamour. You can’t see through it without my help.” Maryse said, sounding highly put out that she had to help in the first place.

Gazing around in wonder, Magnus marvelled at the shining tower, which soared into the sky. It was located on the small island Magnus had seen through his telescope earlier. He couldn’t help but wonder how the merfolk had made it so tall.

After posing this question to Maryse, the pirate captain couldn’t help but notice how the mermaid’s face softened involuntarily as she talked about her home. “In the past, merfolk and humans worked together to build it. There are rooms above water, for those who were friendly with us and wished to stay. Now, however…” She trailed off, eyeing Magnus with suspicion.

Magnus chose to ignore her, preferring instead to admire the gleaming towers stretching high into the clouds. The turrets were similar to the royal castles on land, but made instead from a material that looked to be glass. Magnus knew this to be false, since that was impossible. He reasoned that it was probably brick or stone, enchanted by the merfolk to take on the appearance of glass.

Magnus realised that he did not know what the merfolk where capable of. If they could hide their city from view of humans, then what else could they do? Perhaps Catarina’s idea of a plan had been a good one, after all.

Lowering his eyes back to his crew, he shrugged mentally. It was too late now, and Magnus tried his best not to dwell on past mistakes.

“My home is over there. You may bring two of your crew with you, the rest will remain on your ship.” Maryse ordered, pointing to a smudge on the horizon. Bristling at the instructions, Magnus managed to refrain from retorting, and smiled instead.

“Thank you. We are most grateful.”

With another distrustful glare, Maryse disappeared back under the water. Magnus got the sense that she was still nearby, keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn’t try and go into Alicante.

Sighing, Magnus turned to his crewmembers. “I don’t trust her.” Catarina said bluntly, brow furrowed. “We don’t know what they can do. This may be a trick to get you alone.” She continued.

“I know.” Magnus said. “But we must give her the benefit of the doubt. I will not repeat the mistakes of my father, but I will do whatever I must to get the Cup.” Catarina looked disappointed, but didn’t argue with him. Simon, thankfully, had remained silent, and now picked up the oars at Magnus’ instruction and rowed back to the _Chairman Meow_.

Aboard his ship, Magnus gave the order to sail towards the smudge only he could see. His crew obeyed him without question – Magnus was ignoring Catarina – and he used the time to ponder whom to bring with him to ‘observe’ the merfolk.

He didn’t want to draw more attention to himself, seeing as he’d already trespassed on the merfolk’s territory, so he decided to take his newest recruits, Clary and Simon. He trusted Ragnor and Catarina to look after his crew and ship, and to scout around the area to look for clues on how to get into Alicante.

As they drew nearer, the smudge became clearer. A grand building took shape, not as magnificent as the glass castle, but striking nonetheless. It had the same design as many old churches on land, but Magnus could see that the dark wood twisted together in strange patterns, making wave patterns in the building.

The boat shuddered. People cried out, grabbing the nearest surface to steady themselves. Magnus ran to the stairs, looking for any damage.

“What was that?” He shouted. If he discovered it was his crew’s fault, he was not going to be pleased.

“We don’t know, captain! It came out of nowhere, and there’s nothing in the water!” Striding to the side of the ship, Magnus peered over the edge to check this claim. He spotted several dark shapes darting away. He frowned, but cries from his crewmembers distracted him.

“What’s that?”

“Where did that building come from?”

“Clary, look!”

The last one was Simon as he pointed towards Maryse’s home. Obviously, the merfolk had done something to Magnus’ crew to remove the glamour and allow them to see what was really there. Magnus’ brow furrowed. He didn’t want the merfolk tampering with his crew, even if it had a positive result.

Giving the order to weigh anchor, Magnus took Catarina aside.

“I’m going to take Clary and Simon with me. You and Ragnor will lead the search for any way into Alicante and to the Cup.” Magnus was grateful when Catarina didn’t try and argue, instead nodding and going to relay the orders to Ragnor and eventually the rest of the crew. Signalling Clary and Simon to him, he told them the same thing, before gathering his whole crew before him.

“After years of travel, we have finally arrived at our destination.” A cheer went up, and Magnus allowed himself to smile. “Now I must leave, to allow you to search. I will be taking my newest recruits with me,” here he gestured to Clary and Simon, “to allow them to prove their worth.” Another cheer. “The rest of you will remain behind and search for a way to enter the glass city of Alicante.” Spinning dramatically, Magnus made for the rowing boat, waiting until Clary and Simon had caught up before nodding to Raphael to lower them into the water. Simon took up the oars once again, and they began to row towards the towering building before them.

“Not to undermine your orders, captain, but why did you pick us to come with you?” Clary asked curiously. Magnus decided to overlook the insubordination.

“You won’t arouse suspicion.” He said. Looking startled, Clary blinked before nodding in agreement.

They landed on the island without further interruption, and Magnus immediately sauntered up to the building, admiring the craftsmanship.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” He heard a female voice and turned around quickly, only to find a younger replica of Maryse smiling dangerously at him, lower body hidden in a pool of water. The same dark hair, smug smile, black marks on her upper body. “To think that humans and merfolk were once such close friends.” The mermaid continued, battering her eyelashes at him. Magnus refrained from rolling his eyes. He wasn’t going to be seduced by a young mermaid.

“What’s your name?” He asked, hiding his annoyance.

“Isabelle.” She replied, lowering her eyes demurely. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m sure.” Magnus replied, unimpressed. Had Maryse sent Isabelle to try and distract him? She would be disappointed.

There was a sudden splash in the pool Isabelle was lying in, and she looked around, startled, before quickly disappearing under the water. Clary and Simon came up beside Magnus.

“Who was that?” Simon asked, awestruck. “She was beautiful.” Both Clary and Magnus turned to face him.

“Don’t trust her. She would sooner drag you down to the depths than be genuine.” Magnus warned. Simon looked taken back, but nodded nonetheless, acknowledging Magnus’ authority. Clary opened her mouth, looking paler than usual, but another splash caught the pirates’ attention.

“I see you have arrived.” Maryse welcomed them frostily, reluctantly inviting them into the ‘Institute’. Magnus inquired as to the health of the rest of his crew.

“My ship is not supplied with enough food to keep us here for the length of time I desire.” He explained, purposefully ignoring the annoyed look on Maryse’s face.

“My people will provide them with food.” She replied, annoyance clear in her tone. Magnus smiled.

“Thank you.” He said. “I am most grateful.” He caught the dubious look Maryse shot him, but ignored it. He led Clary and Simon inside, marvelling at the workmanship of the interior. The foyer was magnificent, with a high ceiling painted with amazingly lifelike pictures of merfolk. The walls were made of the same dark wood as the outside, and Magnus ran his hand over the small sea creatures that were carved into them. He recognised a turtle, a shark and a dolphin before Maryse reappeared.

“There are rooms upstairs. Is there anything you wish to see?” Maryse asked, grimacing as though the words tasted unpleasant. Magnus supposed they did for her, having to be cordial to the son of the man who had nearly wiped out her race.

“Not presently. Thank you.” He replied cordially, hoping not to antagonise her further. It was most likely bad enough that he was staying in her house for an undecided amount of time. Magnus didn’t want to annoy her further by asking her for a tour. He could always ask another day, if he needed to buy more time for his crew, or have a look for any clues himself.

With a nod, Maryse flipped over and dived beneath the water. He heard Clary and Simon releasing simultaneous breathes of relief. Withholding his fond smile – for he loved his crew, no matter how much they annoyed him – he turned to them.

“Come on, children. Let us explore!” He ordered, already moving towards one of the doors. He heard a suspicious _thump_ , and glanced back to see Clary supporting Simon. The lad obviously hadn’t quite regained his land legs yet.

Wandering through the nearest door, Magnus realised he was in a parlour of sorts. In the middle of the room, a great hole was cut in the floor, much as there had been in the foyer. Magnus gathered this was so the merfolk could come above water and talk to any humans who might be staying with them. He felt a flash of remorse that this no longer happened, but pushed it down. It wasn’t his fault, after all.

“Wow!” He heard Clary exclaim from behind him, and stepped aside to give the young ones a better look. “This looks like one of my mother’s paintings.” She said, looking around with wonder in her eyes.

With a jolt, Magnus realised that Jocelyn may well have known the merfolk before his father had created the rift between their races. The Fairchilds were well known for being friendly with other races, as well as more unpleasant people. Magnus, to his displeasure, came under the latter category.

Despite this, Jocelyn was a good friend of his, and so he had agreed to take on Clary when he discovered his old friend had died. Clary reminded him of Jocelyn, the same bright hair, fiery spirit and determination. It also helped she was a fast learner, and had quickly become an integral part of his crew.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Magnus moved onto the next room. He had a building to explore.


End file.
